Cafe Sketch in Berkeley

Hey Bloggers!  Now that i'm unpacked (mostly) and settled in (mostly), i've finally had a chance to go to the closest cafe and get some sketching done.  Here's a couple for you and stay tuned for more coming soon.

Poll Result! What did you think of the Dark Knight!??!

Well, here are the results for what you thought of the Dark Knight!

I LOVED IT!  I'm Going to see it again!  61% (22 votes)

Good but a bit too long  25% (9 votes)

Not interested..Rather watch Swing Vote  8% (3 votes)

Just OK  5% (2 votes)

Didnt Like it that Much 

HATED IT............................ 0%  (tied with no votes)

Go ahead and vote for the newest POLL!  Your votes matter!!

The Best Television Show Ever.

Recently, I finished watching the 5th and last season of my favorite show of all time, The Wire. For those who aren't familiar with the show, it's a cop show that not only follows the cops but with each season, explores a different institution of the city of Baltimore, Maryland such as the drug trade (Season 1), the ports (Season 2), politics (season 3), the school system (season 4), and finally the media ( season 5).


To merely categorize this as a cop show would be doing it a great disservice as it really takes a deeper look at the socio-political problems that all major cities face today. Each institution is thoroughly examined with each season to the point where even the lowest criminal, dock worker, police officer, student, etc. leap off the screen with great sincerity and heartfelt realism. Yes, they do all this and still make the story lines REALLY entertaining too. This is truly a show to be watched, re-watched and learned from.
Here's a Spoiler Free trailer for the show:

And one for Season 5!

My Interview with the Filipino Daily Inquirer

Several months ago, Janet Nepales from the Filipino Daily Inquirer interviewed me for Pixar's International Press Day. Since Wall-e was recently released in the Philippines, they've published the article. Click on the picture or the link below to read the article.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20080819-155640/A-Pinoy-at-Pixar

Cafe Sketch...@Peet's Coffee in Berkeley Part 3

Have a great weekend everyone!

Score Review: The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer and J. N. Howard

4/5 Stars

Lately, I've had Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's score to the Dark Knight on repeat. Those who know me well are aware that I am a soundtrack NUT. I've been collecting them and listening to them since I first discovered John Williams' masterpiece, Star Wars.
Anyway, I wanted to take a minute to write about how much I like the soundtrack to The Dark Knight.I've seen the movie along with the gazillions of people the world over and I must say that the score does a great job of capturing the spirit of the film. In all honesty, I felt the film began to overstay its welcome by the last half hour but there are some great moments in it overall.
Zimmer deftly alternates between darker passages and propulsive action, going back to his 5 note Batman motif which he utilized for Batman Begins. I had a conversation with someone at work yesterday and he insisted that the score didn't work as well as it could have since Zimmer didn't use a more leitmotific approach with his theme the way Williams would have. This may be true but I still feel that with this installment, he gives listeners enough action music using non-traditional delivery ("Why So Serious?) balanced by more classical action music that propels the action on screen without screaming "cheezy superhero!!!". If anyone has any doubts about this, just listen to how well he mixes his older Batman theme with his newer material in this track , "A Dog Chasing Cars", (possibly my favorite from the entire album):

Discover The Dark Knight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack!

He also gives Joker an one-note screech that perfectly captures his mental dementia. Anyway, with the exception of one or two tracks from the original Batman Begins Soundtrack, I was never really drawn to listen to it more than a few times but for some reason, Zimmer's work with Dark Knight has really pulled me in.

Discover The Dark Knight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack!

Cafe Sketch....@Peet's Coffee in Berkeley Part 2

Here's a few more sketches for you all out there.
Enjoy!

Cafe Sketch....@Peet's Coffee in Berkeley

Another Sunday, another round of sketchbook pages coming at you this week!

Stay tuned later this week for more cafe sketches coming your way!

Poll: Your Most Productive Hours

Hey Bloggers! Well, the results are in for the latest poll and your votes are all counted. Here are your most productive hours:

12am to 4am (13 votes) 34%
8am to 12pm (12 votes) 31%
4pm to 8pm (5 votes) 13%
12pm to 4pm
8pm to 12am (tied 4 votes) 10%
4am to 8 am (0 votes)

Make your votes count and weigh in on the latest Poll!!!

Cafe Sketch...A Lazy Sunday Part 3

And finally, the last part of the "Lazy Sunday Series"!!

Have a wonderful weekend, Everyone!

Cafe Sketch...A Lazy Sunday Part 2

As promised, here's more!

Cafe Sketch...A Lazy Sunday Part 1

Hey Bloggers! Sorry for the lack of drawings lately but things have been quite eventful with my life for the last month. Soon after Wall-e wrapped, my wife and I bought a house in north Berkeley. It needs much love so if I don't post too many drawings in the next month or so, please know that there is a good reason.

I did, however, get a chance to run off to the local cafe this Sunday and did a few pages of drawings.

Stay tuned this week for the rest of the pages! Have a great week everyone!!!

Coming "UP" Next....

Hey Bloggers! If you haven't seen it yet, here's the first teaser to the film I'm currently working on... "Up", directed by Pete Docter. Enjoy

Andrew Stanton on KCRW's The Treatment

Hey Bloggers, came across this interview with Andrew Stanton on KCRW's The Treatment today and thought you may want to check it out. He talks about the making of Wall-e, filmmaking choices and the Pixar culture. Just click on his picture or follow the link below. Happy July 4th!
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt/tt080702andrew_stanton

Poll: Your Favorite John Williams Score:

The latest poll has closed and here are the results of your favorite John Willaims Score:

Star Wars (9 votes) 29%
Indiana Jones (6 votes) 19%
Jurassic Park (4 votes) 12%
Jaws and ET (tied 3 votes) 9%
Harry Potter, Superman, Other (Schindlers list, Hook, etc tied 2votes) 6%

Disagree? Have that John Williams score you feel was left out? Please feel free to write in!

Ignatius Reilly!!!!!

Recently, Steven Gettis of Digital Medusa asked me to submit a literary themed drawing. I feel really bad because he's already asked me twice before but i've just been so busy that I haven't had the chance to do a drawing for his site. Well, since I've wrapped on Wall-e and now have plenty of downtime, I decided to go ahead and draw one of my all time favorite literary characters from one of my all time favorite books: Ignatius Reilly from "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole.

The character is a behemoth of a man. He still lives with his mother and constantly writes manifestos about anything and everything on pads of paper in his room. The basic premise might sound lame but I guarantee, its a great read and there are moments in the book where Ignatius interacts with his mother or other characters that are just hilarious.

Toole describes Ignatius in the beginning of the book:
A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black mustache and, at their corners sand into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs.

Anyway,I'm a big fan of the site and I encourage everyone out there to check it out.... I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it!!

Criminal Pygmies

Hey Bloggers! So myself and a couple of friends at work, Rob Thompson and Austin Madison are doing a bi-weekly drawing challenge where we draw something after combining random words . This past week's challenge is: Criminal Pygmies!!! It's a really fun, creative way to stay loose and exercise those drawing muscles after staring at the computer all day!

One More Week

Can't wait for everyone out there to finally meet Wall-e. I've had the best (and hardest) experience working on this film and just wanted to thank the many talented people at Pixar who helped me and taught me so much.

Sketchbook Doodles

Hey bloggers, here's a couple of random doodles from the 'ol sketchbook for ya.  

I'll be posting more soon so stay tuned.

Super High at Sentinel Point.

This video was shot while I was up at Sentinel Point in Yosemite. Why do they call it Sentinel Point? Oh yeah, because you're super high up and can see for miles and miles. I'm not one to be squeamish about heights but this actually made me feel a bit of vertigo while I was looking down. Anyway, you can view the video in the safety of your desk...Enjoy!



Note the group of people at the edge of that cliff. Yeah....that's HIGH!

Yosemite Weekend

Hey Bloggers! So as promised, here are a couple of pictures from my trip to Yosemite. Joy and I had a great time but stupidly I didn't put on any sunscreen so my arms and the back of my neck got badly sunburned.
The picture on top was taken at Mirror Lake. We stepped into the water which was ICE COLD. The kids were loving it though as you can see in the picture.

Stay tuned for more pictures!

Desert Island Movie#6- Raiders of the Lost Ark

With the latest Indy movie now out in theaters, I wanted to revisit just how much I love Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders is George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's homage to the old Republic serials which gave viewers thrill-a-minute action and crazy cliffhangers.
It goes without saying that Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as the globe trotting acheologist. He gives Indy a flawed vulnerability that is all but gone in the other Indy films. Spielberg also paces out all the action sequences expertly and never makes it feel too unbelievable or redundant. Put all these elements together with John Williams' rousing music (click on link below) and you've got yourself a winner!

More Gesture Drawings

Hey Bloggers! Here's a couple more 30 second gesture drawings I did at work. Sorry for the slow posts but that's what happens when you get sucked into video games...yeah, I'm talking about Grand Theft Auto 4....*siiiigh* I need my life back!


Anyway, Joy and I are off to Yosemite again this weekend for her birthday. Stay tuned next week for photos and (hopefully) sketches! Have a great weekend everyone!

Sketchbook Ramblings....Willy Wonka

I happened to catch Willy Wonka tonight on tv and luckily had my sketchbook handy....
Have I mentioned how awesome Gene Wilder is in this movie?

Cafe Sketch...A new sketchbook.

So yesterday I ran to the art store and bought a new sketchpad. I'm really loving the Fabriano sketchbook that I bought. It's got alternating white and cream colored pages. Anyways, enough with me geeking out...here's a couple of watercolors I did in the new sketchpad.

stay tuned for more coming soon!

30 Second Gesture Drawings

Hey Bloggers! Now that Wall-e has finally wrapped, I find that i've got more time to take advantage of some classes they offer at Pixar like life drawing and Gesture drawing classes. I've combined some of the ones that I liked in Photoshop so I can share them with you.
Sorry if some of these are cut off...my paper was wayyyy bigger than my scannerbed! Anyways, enjoy!
P.S. Special thanks to Nick Sung for teaching these classes!

Desert Island Movie#5- Pinocchio

The pinnacle of classical 2D animation reaches incredible heights in Walt Disney's second theatrical feature, Pinocchio. I have a biased love for this film because I can still remember watching it with my parents and brothers and sisters when I was very young.
The film opens with the classic song, "When You Wish Upon A Star" that still manages to give me goosebumps and puts a lump in my throat all at the same time. From a technical standpoint, there are scenes in this movie that are still unmatched in its perfection. One scene that comes to mind is the sequence when Pinocchio sings "I've Got No Strings". He starts out feeling insecure and a bit scared but as he realizes the audience loves his performance, he becomes more confident and bombastic.

Also amazing are the watercolors used for the backgrounds. They are so rich in detail and warmth that it immediately puts audiences right in the scene without calling too much attention to themselves. My favorite example of this is in the beginning when they show all the wooden clocks and toys.

This is still the high standard for me each time I see an animated film and I only hope I get to work on one as good as this in my lifetime. Maybe if I wish upon a star!

Cafe Sketches 2 for the Road

Happy Monday, Bloggers! Here's two more Cafe Sketches for the road. This first one was an old lady at Starbucks kvetching with a friend....

....and a couple more.
Have a great week, everyone!!!

Desert Island Movie#4-The Empire Strikes Back

Unless you've lived under a rock in the last twenty-plus years, you've heard of this movie. To me, Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to end all sequels.

Darker, richer in character development, and more psychologically complex than A New Hope, Empire moves the Star Wars saga into new territories. Director Irving Kirshner expertly juggles each aspect of the film from action, to romance, to quiet moments of introspection with Luke and Yoda on Dagobah.

Plus, who can forget the final moment in the film when Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father??! Still sends chills up my spine!

Cafe Sketch....Back in the habit!

Hey Bloggers! Yes, I know I haven't posted more cafe sketches in awhile but that's what happens when your job takes over your life! Anyways, Wall-e is almost done so I finally got a chance to draw again. Here's a couple of new ones for you:


Stay tooned for more in the next week or so!

Desert Island Movie#3-North by Northwest

North by Northwest, directed by the one and only, Alfred Hitchcock stands as one of my favorite suspense thrillers. It features Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, an ad executive who finds himself chased by a sinister organization because they mistake him for a spy.
This film has it all...Amazing composition, Saul Bass opening titles, a riveting Bernard Hermann score, the climb and big finale on Mount Rushmore, and of course, who can forget the famous crop duster scene??! A lesser filmmaker would have kept the film dark and moody but Hitchcock wisely keeps it light and even comedic at times without loosing the suspense and thrill of the chase.

Also worthy of note is Cary Grant's AMAZING chemistry with screen vixen Eva Marie Saint. Both actors manage to light up the screen each time they are together and by the end of the movie, we are convinced that these two characters are truly in love.

Desert Island Movie#2-The Good The Bad, And the Ugly

My next desert island movie would definitely have to be The Good The Bad and The Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone. To me, its the ultimate western with three of the greatest characters put on screen.
Oddly enough, Leone's westerns were inspired by eastern filmmaker Akira Kurosawa whose samurai films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro created the template for the hero with no name who strides into town and unleashes his own brand of justice. All the actors play their parts to perfection but its Eli Wallach's scrappy bandit Tuco that steals the movie. Wallach makes Tuco both dangerous and loveable, a performance that's no easy feat. Seeing him interact with Eastwood's character never fails to put you on the edge of your seat and put a grin on your face at the same time.

Plus, the film has one of the coolest taglines ever: "For three men, the civil war wasnt hell....It was Practice!" Count me in!

Desert Island Movie....#1 IKIRU

What if you had to go away to a deserted island and only take 10 films with you....What would they be? I've been thinking about this and decided to put together ten of my all time favorite films on a list (in no particular order of course). One of the first films I would choose would be Akira Kurosawa's IKIRU.

The basic premise is this...A government clerk (played by Takashi Shimura) finds out he has stomach cancer and will soon die. He reflects upon his life and realizes that he has done nothing worth of any substance and that his life has no meaning. I LOVE this film because any other director would have made it heartfelt and syrupy whereas Kurosawa shows it to us in a straightforward, almost cold manner.

After Shimura's character dies, Kurosawa uses the second half of the film to examine the character's life from other characters' point of view. This prevents the film from getting too overly emotional and allows the audience to see more facets of the character.

Shimura plays the old man with such soul-baring pain and loneliness that you can't help but feel not only sympathy, but EMPATHY for the guy. All around just an amazing movie that has to be taken on that island.